1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a rotatable wireless electrical coupler that provides an alternative to and replacement for mechanical slip rings in rotatable mechanical assemblies in general, and more particularly pertains to a rotatable wireless electrical coupler that provides an alternative to and replacement for mechanical slip rings in dome panning video cameras.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
The present state of the art in dome video cameras connects a dome camera, which includes a security video camera and associated electrical and mechanical components mounted on a rotatable platform/section covered by a dome, to electrical power and the data network of a security system by using a multiple conductor mechanical slip ring assembly.
Dome cameras are frequently used in security surveillance systems to provide video images of observed areas of a premises protected by the security systems. Dome cameras are frequently mounted in the ceiling (or on a pole, wall or roof) at strategic locations above the protected premises, and include a video camera mounted above and in a dome generally mounted on the ceiling. The dome camera is rotatably mounted and driven by a pan motor about a generally vertical axis, such that the dome camera can rotatably pan about the vertical axis to provide a 360 degree panoramic view of the protected premises, and is also rotatably mounted and driven by a tilt motor about a generally horizontal axis to provide a vertically variable field of view, variable from a view just below the horizon to a view more vertically below the dome camera, such that the two axes of rotational freedom provide the camera with a versatile capability of viewing many different areas of the protected premises.
The rotatably mounted camera typically includes a mechanical slip ring assembly with a plurality (e.g. 6) of slip rings positioned vertically stacked around a vertical axis of rotation to provide for the transfer of electrical power to all of the components on a rotatable platform/section, including the video camera and its associated electrical circuitry and pan and tilt motors and their associated electrical circuitry, and to carry video signals from the video camera to the video switching or processing system of the security system, and also to carry control and feedback data signals to and from the video camera, pan and tilt motors and other associated electrical components. The mechanical slip ring assembly is one of the more expensive components of a dome camera, has only fair reliability, and frequently any repair work is very labor intensive.